


No one asks Sherlock

by Esbe



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:07:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25702549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esbe/pseuds/Esbe
Summary: They all see this as a problem to be solved. Sherlock sees only her.No one asks him. So he says nothing at all.
Relationships: Sherlock Holmes & Everyone Else
Comments: 15
Kudos: 13





	No one asks Sherlock

**Author's Note:**

> Hello my beautiful people! Whatsup? Yeah I know its been so long and I swear I haven't stopped writing its just that nothing publishable has come along. But I will keep at it and some day I will write a long fic again.
> 
> Meantime I thought it would serve me well to write Sherlock in a nice healthy frame of mind doing nice happy things for himself.

Not one of them asks Sherlock.

It was his decision to adopt her. And yet he isn’t asked.

John is running around understanding her medicals. Mycroft is making his minions jump over bureaucratic hurdles.

No one asks him.

She is found at the site of a double murder. When he reaches the site she is sleeping but soon wakes up and lets out a whimper. Sherlock picks her up as he makes his deductions about the victims and the crime. He ignores Anderson’s spluttering admonishing, putting a finger to his lips to indicate silence. In a few minutes he picks the plastic bag near the bed and cleans and changes her using the mass-produced wipes and diapers on the gaudy rubber sheet. A few minutes later he is feeding her and burping her and patting her to sleep.

The social worker arrives. She smiles as she spots him. But it is Lestrade who fills her in. She takes her away. No one asks him.

They all see this as a problem to be solved. Sherlock sees only her.

It is obvious she could not possibly belong with the murder victims. She hasn’t lived with them for more than three weeks. They try to trace possible parents. There won’t be any because it is equally obvious that she is a child of illegal immigrants who were possibly too afraid to report her loss or willingly gave her away. Either way they will not come forward to claim her.

But no one asks him.

She has to be handed over to the social services. They will find a family to foster her. But he finds himself reluctant to do so. No one ever slept off in his arms.

What is best for the baby? They ask each other. No one asks him.

Sherlock finally speaks out and tells them he is adopting her.

That’s the only time anyone hears him.

Inevitably, they all try to convince him otherwise and when he refuses to budge (ignores all of them) the further inevitable happens. John declares without consulting him that he will co-parent. Sherlock is not going to allow that but he will not bother to say it yet. She is his alone. Just as he will finally be someone’s.

Mycroft starts with his nosing. Of course he doesn’t deign to ask Sherlock.

Mycroft and John decide upon her medical assessment. No one asks him. Her hearing, sight, cognitive abilities are all sound. She is quite normal for her age. Deficient in some nutrients, which will soon be overcome with the new formula he has chosen. There should be no need for further tests but no one asks him.

Another test reveals she has a congenital heart condition. Possible to live with but some care must be taken. Should we go ahead? They ask themselves. We? He wonders.

No one asks him. So he says nothing at all.

Mycroft warns John against making an emotional decision. Of course everyone assumes that it will be John whose decision will be emotional. John is afraid she will bond with him and seldom spends time with her.

John goes into an overdrive declaring that unless they know all details they should hold the adoption; that they need (translation: John needs) to know everything about her condition before making the final decision. Strangely, he doesn’t ask Sherlock.

No one asks him and he asks no one. No one tells him anything and Sherlock tells no one.

He draws plans and starts executing them. There’s a lot to do and he has no time to explain things to idiots.

Sherlock meets her every single day — for hours. The middle-aged experienced couple fostering her approve wholeheartedly. They give him tips on how to take care of her. He sees her and she sees him. They decide that they like each other. They bond. They fall in love. She is four months and he is thirty-four.

He loves and tells no one. She loves and declares it to her entire audience.

A room is allocated (his of course); the house starts becoming safer for an infant (and soon a toddler); large amounts of paper, old clothing, flotsam and jetsam from several cases and experiments have been sorted and stored properly or simply discarded. John misses noticing most of it somehow. Mycroft notices and calls but is ignored.

The carpets will have to be changed. The paint and paper on the walls will be replaced by eco-friendly paint that will be stain proof and easily washable. Contractors have been called upon, quotations discussed, samples acquired and tested.

No one asks him. He asks no one.

John worries about the quality of life patients of the condition have. Mycroft ensures specialists around the world are identified.

Sherlock orders a separate refrigerator for food alone. The old one will be moved closer to his new room. He has set up online bill payments for all utilities (John will keep an eye once notified).

And then they come to know.

Mycroft sends a text that he ignores.

He knows that the child welfare department and family courts will be involved but perfunctorily, once Mycroft Holmes makes a decision. His brother isn’t a monster and will actually weigh all options against the welfare of the child. Sherlock will convince him. Needs must and all that. But all in good time.

John comes home furious. “You’ve been meeting the child regularly. She will bond with you and when we cannot go ahead with adopting her it will traumatise h—”

“And of course the fear is that _she_ will bond with _me_. A bond is two sided isn’t it?” Sherlock asks feigning calm.

John’s tirade grinds to a sudden halt at the calm statement.

Sherlock sweeps off into his room. He returns a minute later with the adoption papers with only one name as the parent. His.

“I am adopting her. Not we,” he says to a dumbstruck John. John looks stricken but Sherlock doesn’t care. Aethelflaed Ada will be a Holmes in name and belonging as soon as possible.

There are sample cards and fabrics in his other hand, “I need to call the contractor. Still haven’t decided the colour for her room.” He waves absently and rummages for his phone. He dials and starts speaking, “This brand is fine. I’ve tested the samples. I’d prefer not to go for clichés like pink please though she did show a remarkable preference for mint green and red, those are MG326 and RR12. I’d prefer not to have both though. They clash,” he clarifies, not having any faith in anyone else’s abilities on that front. “Hmm red flowers… that may work. Send me the stencil patterns.” He then starts to look for something around the room but continues on the phone. “Yes,” he pauses to listen.

“No, the carpet will have to go. There is no way we can make this one safe for a crawling child or one who will put everything in her mouth soon. Don’t you have something with natural fibres instead? Have you seen the ones they use in Bhutan? Or perhaps we could get some proper wooden flooring? Easier to clean. May take longer? Hmmm… Maybe it’s not… Sure, send me a quote and samples immediately please.” He clicks off the phone and puts it back into his pocket.

John scrambles to speak, “Sorry, but why do you want to adopt a child, Sherlock?”

“Why do you ask, John?”

“Please, just…” John takes a deep breath, “I really want to know Sherlock. I’m not—”

“Nope. You have prejudged and already found my un-uttered reasons wanting. Now all you want is for me to articulate them so that you can feel justified and also argue against the adoption.” Then, with even less patience than usual Sherlock flicks a hand and continues, “I don’t have time. The house must be made more child friendly, John.” He says by way of explanation.

“I have started using the items I’ve bought for her to get her accustomed as soon as possible. Less trauma at transitioning that way.”

“Sher—”

“A few things from our childhood have been preserved and will be cleaned and sent along soon. Should be here in a day or two.”

“Your ch—”

Sherlock lets out another impatient huff and continues his search, “It’s just a matter of days, John. The esteemed _‘minor official in Her Majesty’s government’_ will find a way. There is much to do. I don’t have the usual 40 weeks to prepare. As I was saying, the new fridge will only be for food. I bought half a dozen nursing bottles and a sterilizer. It’s right now at her foster home. She isn’t particularly sensitive but I’ve ensured a switch of her brand of formula. The dead couple was using the cheapest milk powder they could find!” Sherlock looks thoroughly disgusted and angry. “I have submitted an application for breast-milk donation as well. I’m meeting the prospective donors on Thursday afternoon.”

“I’ll be there.”

Sherlock raises a brow in query.

“Please.” John accedes.

“Sure. Be here by three. You can assess them as a medical professional. I’ll have the Irregulars vet their backgrounds. Though I may have to continue using formula. That’s of course for the next few months.”

“Sherlock, have you considered—”

“Have you seen the file for the Blue Inn case?” Sherlock asks even as he rummages through the shelves.

“No, umm…”

“I do have ample time to research the best mix of solid foods and the methods of preparation for her. Your inputs can be added there as well. Especially what you observed from older Afghan and Somali mothers while stationed there. I am going to avoid mass manufactured food for as long as possible. Can I rely on you to buy organic non-GMO groceries for Aethelflaed Ada?”

John is still gaping but manages to nod somehow.

Sherlock goes all thinky, “Which one will she prefer? Ada or Aethelflaed?”

John would have answered but the detective continues, “Where is the file? I need to leave soon. She will be cranky after her first vaccine. There are no records and so the fostering couple and I have assumed she had none so far. The paediatrician recommended by Mycroft agrees. She has suggested a revised schedule for the vaccines Aethelflaed Ada has missed. I would prefer not to use any allopathic treatments for anything else, unless it’s a critical illness. No judgement. I do trust your skills, but not Western pharmaceuticals.”

He is on his belly scrabbling under the sofa and soon he triumphantly pulls out a file from underneath.

John is still processing all of it and the name chosen. _Aethelflaed Ada_! Poor kid.

“I could not find a reliable Homoeopathic practitioner but I have met one Yunani practitioner, another of Ayurveda and one of Zhongyin. I am going to have Mike and Molly vet them. One or more will be in charge of her medical treatment for the foreseeable future. Molly has agreed to be one of the godparents.”

By now John is offended. Sherlock knows but couldn’t care less. His daughter needs dependable-affable-minded-consistent-positive adults not angry flighty bossy ones who think they alone know best for her.

He is rapidly typing on his mobile, “I will not be available for an hour in the evenings, five to six. For the next three days. I am starting my training on infant massages tomorrow. Unless it’s an emergency don’t call me.”

Sherlock has calculated the time it takes to reach his bedroom from John’s and it was adequate. Though he was also planning to have a folding cot in there for the first few nights, emergencies, teething, etc.

John is still gaping as Sherlock leaves in a flourish saying, “Oh and yes please get ready to move to the basement. I’ll move upstairs and this,” he points towards his own room, “will be hers.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I know thats not how adoptions work in most countries leave alone the UK. But yes emotionally a lot of it is there and thats what I was aiming for.  
> Also in spite of BC playing Sherlock as if he was horrified at even the sight of Rosie, I doubt that. He is a scientist first and foremost and knows how to make things work. Plus infants and toddlers are non-judgmental people who assume you are an adult and hence exist to take care of them. When you do they reward you without an agenda or critique. Which is why they are the best and Sherlock will rather spend time with one of them.
> 
> I may or may not add to this. Really no idea.  
> But I would love to hear what you thought of it and why and yeah if you want rave and rant about parenting or adoption procedures or tell me what happens next according to you  
> Thanks so much for reading this. Love you all.


End file.
